Reviews

This is a rucksack that I would recommend to day hikers…

This is a rucksack that I would recommend to day hikers and those who won't stay out for more than two days at a time. It is ideal for summer hiking and short camping trips, not long expiditions.

Pros

Light

Sturdy

A lot of external storage

Comfortable straps

Easy to find things in

Cons

Not waterproof

Limited storage

Marmot Aspen 35

Over the three years that I’ve owned my Marmot Aspen 35 rucksack, it has never failed me, or impressed me that much. I highly recommend this rucksack to; day hikers or those who plan to stay out for one night in winter and fall, or two to three nights in the summer. This is because it is a quality built rucksack, which is not designed for long or cold journeys where a lot of gear needs to be carried.

Volume

The rucksacks main compartment has the capacity of 35 liters. This makes it light and easy, but forces you to take the minimalist approach to your packing. For me this works nicely in the summer, but is a real limitation in the winter when I need to carry around a lot of warm clothing and sleeping bags.

Straps

The straps make the bag comfortable and easy to wear. They are also very good because they have a lot of places to attach knives, canteens, or hatchets to them.

External Storage

Like on the straps, the hull has plenty of room for external storage. It has the usual blanket strap as well as two straps on either side. I use them to carry my sleeping bags, back pads and tarps. They tighten nicely and don’t loosen until you unbuckle them.

Not Waterproof

In my opinion the biggest flaw is the fact that the bag isn’t waterproof. This means that heavy rain or a fall into a river or puddle can result in the whole journey being ruined, but I found a solution. The trick is to get your hands on a 35 liter garbage bag and filling it with all the gear you want to keep dry, then you close it and put it in the rucksack. All the gear that can get wet, you can put on top.

All Together

All in all I can say that this bag does its job, it’s not extraordinary, but it does the job for short trips and day hikes. I tried using it for multi-night winter camping, and it didn’t work very smoothly, so the thing with this backpack is that you have to know its limits, and make good use of its benefits.